The Messiest Memories
by RadicalReason
Summary: Gilderoy Lockhart remembers one face from his past: the face of a witch who studies dragons. As each of his memories unfurl in his dreams he begins to worry about what he may have done to her. Full summary inside. Dramady.
1. Chapter 1

_The Messiest Memories_

**Full Summary: Gilderoy Lockhart remembers one face from his past: the face of a witch who studies dragons. As each of his memories unfurl in his dreams he begins to worry about what he may have done to her. The only thing that comforts him is that ** _**Dueling with Dragons** _ ** was never published. Follow him as he drags his Healer along with him to find clues from the past.**

**Wow. It's always strangely exhilarating starting a new story and putting it up. This is my second story, so I'm not quite over that weird rush you get whenever you post. **

**Oh, and just to let you know, if you have read my story, Eloise Midgen and the Yule Ball, this one is NOTHING like it. At all. It's not funny and it isn't about pimply teens and there is (almost) no drama. Okay, fine there is drama. And some romance...I suppose… I don't know what the (insert swear word of choice here) to classify this as. **

**Just read it and review. If you hate it, let me know, PLEASE. Then stop reading! If you like it, great. Review or put me on story alert or something. I really want good criticism or if you like it then just say so (though I probably won't believe you because as my friend, scholarlydimwit, says, I "need a piece of anti-humble pie."). ENJOY!**

_A sweet mouth on a pretty oval face framed with dark brown hair that just barely brushed her shoulders. Bright, intelligent green eyes, curiosity abounding in them, were almost concealed beneath her long, dark lashes. She was tiny and pixie-like in a different way…a nice way? A stubborn chin gave her face animation and character. Of course, Lockhart didn't fail to notice the small things. Her hands were calloused and hard, lips chapped, eyes just a smidgen too wide-set, and muscles bigger than his own (Though anyone else would say that her muscles were only slightly toned)._

_Then she turned to look at him. Her eyes were wide and intense in their shock, but then she relaxed and smiled and everything melted away. _

**xVx**

Gilderoy Lockhart awoke in his bed in the permanent ward of St. Mungo's. The motherly-looking Healer whose name he couldn't quite grasp at smiled at him. "Awake already, dearie?" Before he could say another word she shoved a tray under his nose. "Breakfast. It's your favorite." Was it his favorite? He couldn't remember. He just flashed his most stunning smile and took the tray.

**xVx**

"_Er… Excuse me, do you have license to be here, Mr….?"_

"_Gilderoy Lockhart, my dear Madam," he beamed down at her. _

_She flashed him a quick smile. "It's just Emily, Mr. Lockhart. Now, what brings you to Romania?"_

"_Well, I was hoping to learn as much as I can about dragons. I'm a columnist for the _ Monthly Moon_."_

"_Oh, really?" her dark brows were furrowed. "I've never heard of the _ Monthly Moon_… But I suppose it's all right."_

"_Splendid!" Lockhart chimed, handsome face smoothed into a joyful grin._

_Only a few months later she probably wouldn't remember anything. That was all the better. Once _ Dueling with Dragons_ was published she wouldn't even have a memory of being an expert with dragons. Maybe she would even find herself with a copy of his book. His grin widened at the thought. _

**xVx**

Someone had a grasp on his shoulders, gently rocking him awake. "Gilderoy…"

"Mm?" he groaned and sat up, patting his golden locks. "Yes?"

"You drifted off, dearie," the Healer said, face strained and anxious. "Are you feeling well?"

"I don't know," he said blankly. "Am I?"

She smoothed his hair from his forehead. "Your temperature seems normal…" She whipped out her wand and peeled back his eyelids, peering into each eye with the glowing light that emanated from the wand. "No signs of a seizure or hallucinatory episode…" She pondered this for a moment and finally said, "Have you been under a lot of stress lately?"

"Well, I do have tons of fan mail to answer. Do you think you could help me address the envelopes?" He gave her his sweetest little-boy smile.

"Of course, Gilderoy."

"Oh Rosie, you _do_ spend too much time with him," said a pudgy witch in an ill-fitted uniform, "A war has just ended, for Merlin's sake! We have many other patients who require your help, yet you sit in here with him answering _fan mail_ !"

"But he must get so lonely here by himself," Lockhart's Healer protested. The pudgy witch scowled at Rosie and left the ward.

A new day. People always say that anything can happen in a day. If yesterday was awful, today would be amazing. Lockhart didn't even know if yesterday was awful. Each day was the same. Monday… Tuesday… Wednesday… Thursday… Friday… Saturday… Sunday… Monday… Tuesday… The cycle would go on. March would pass and soon April would be here. Then suddenly, as if the world was turning backwards, March would come once more.

His humdrum existence was barely a steady existence. If he had had his soul sucked out by an overly friendly dementor nothing would be changed.

But that one face. How could he forget it? Those tough red hands. Petite, but with a strong, young, figure. It was hard to believe that these were all figments of his imagination. But a word within the word kept him preoccupied.

Lie.

Was he believing a lie or lying to make himself believe? Was there even a difference?

**xVx**

"_OBLIVIATE!" The voice rang clearly, the word made his insides coil like a snake. Was the snake devouring him from the inside? There was pain. His pain? Whose pain? His body shuddered. _

_He wouldn't look down. Not down near his feet. If he looked down something terrible would happen. If he looked down he would see something he wasn't ever going to be ready for. He was the one to blame. HE was the one to blame. _

_And he wasn't ready to face what he'd done._


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER!! (I forgot the disclaimer for chappie 1. Oopsie!)**

**Thanks to everyone who is sticking with my story! YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE! **

**I'm happy because I've had my Swedish Fish for the day (my friend gave a bag of Swedish Fish to her boyfriend and he gave one to me) and because I've had my laugh for the day (the bottle of my conditioner said "Fortifying Fortifier" on it. No joke). I have a concert tonight (I'm a band geek). The fact that I actually almost like being called a 'bando' (plural would be bandoes) signifies that. The best oart about the concert is that it is over. Then everyone goes to Dairy Queen (it is the ritual of the band geeks). **

**I had so much fun writing this chapter last night while I should have been studying for my French retest (It's actually an exam, but the word reexam doesn't exist…). I got a 75 percent. Hehe... But SERIOUSLY, I had so much fun writing this. This is the most fun I've had writing for a long time. **

_The Messiest Memories_

Chapter 2

"What does 'obliviate' mean?" Lockhart asked Rosie, his Healer, one day. Her mouth gaped open.

Rosie then shut her mouth with a snap and managed a smile. "You're beginning to remember!" She clasped her hands together, excitedly bobbing up and down. "I had hoped for this! Well, you see, Gilderoy, a Memory Charm has been preformed on you about six years ago. Usually after a few decades the charm begins to fade slightly, but this is wonderful! You were probably remembering what had happened to you."

Gilderoy didn't want to say that he had heard his own voice uttering that charm. He just blinked a few times, looking classically clueless, and then flashed his own teeth in a heart-breaking smile. "So, soon I should have my memories back?"

"Well… I really can't say for sure, but I hope for it." That was just another way of saying that it was unlikely. Gilderoy sighed dramatically, resting his head on his hand for a better effect. "But there is a chance that I could use Legilimency to access some of your locked up memories…" People would do anything for you if you were a good actor. He almost grinned, but instead bit his lip, pasting on his most thoughtful look.

"Do you think you really could? If it isn't too much trouble…"

Rosie smiled at him. "I'm hopeless at Legilimency, though." Lockhart tried to look as sad as he could. "But Datura knows how to do it!"

"Isn't datura a poisonous plant?" Lockhart now looked rather nervous.

Rosie looked delighted. "Yes! It is also known as the "Devil's Apple" and "Jimson Weed."

Great.

"Was Datura that witch who was in here before…?" He was going to say, 'That overweight one' but thought better of it.

"Yes. She can be a bit stern sometimes, but usually she's really a lovely person!"

"Mm hmm," he put on a disinterested expression, "I'm sure she is."

**xVx**

"Rosie said that you wanted to see me…?" said the witch cautiously. Datura. That was her name. She was that pudgy witch from before who was yelling about how Rosie was wasting her time with Lockhart.

"Yes," he smiled as pleasantly as he could at her. She was a dreadfully ugly little thing and he could barely stand to even look at her. "I've heard that you are rather skilled at Legilimency."

Datura shrugged. "I suppose." She was modest. He found that dumb of her. Why waste herself on the uselessly injured when she could be doing great things?

"As you know, I have been the victim of a Memory Charm," he said, pausing. She nodded for him to go on. "So I was wondering whether you could help with Legilimency…"

"I doubt it."

"But can you TRY?" he pleaded.

"Why should I help you? There are other patients here who need caring for more than you do," she stated, "I don't want to waste my time watching your memories. Just looking at you makes me annoyed."

_Ha-ha! Ditto!_

"Why should I have to watch you acting all frivolous and idiotic?"

"You present a very good question," he said, stroking his chin, "Which I do not know the answer to."

"I bet you don't even know who your own mum is," she snapped, "You'll just walk around, dazedly asking, 'Are you my mother? Are you my mother?' like that stupid Muggle story."

"Hey!" Lockhart cried, "That story sounds SO familiar!"

Datura snorted. "Like I said, why should I help you? If you come up with a good answer by the end of the day I MIGHT just help you."

**xVx**

"Rosie!" he gasped dramatically, entering his ward, "I need your help!"

"Gilderoy, you naughty boy! Where have you been?"

"Trying to convince Datura, but her heart is still as cold as ice!" he cried.

"Well, we must do something about that!" Rosie replied firmly.

"She wanted to know," he paused to add to the effect, "why she should help me."

Rosie smiled happily! "That one's easy enough!"

"But I don't know why she should help me," he molded his features into a perfectly forlorn frown.

"So you can live," she said gently.

"I'm not living now…?"

"Gilderoy, you don't know anything of your past. Doesn't that make you sad at all? You probably don't even remember your dear old mum! THAT'S how powerful the charm was."

"But living is breathing." Now Lockhart was REALLY confused.

"No, sweetie. Living is loving."

**xVx**

"Datura?" he said solemnly. She was sure he was acting again.

"Yes?"

"I know why you should help me."

She sighed. He was probably going to be dramatically over-the-top. "Why?"

"Because I deserve to know." Real tears seemed to fill his eyes. "I must know what I have done."

"Okay," she said quietly.

"Thank you," he whispered.

**xVx**

Soon his memories would return. Datura had agreed to help him, but she said that she was unsure whether it would work or not. She had explained that she too would see his memories, but he didn't care. As long as he got them back, he would be fine, right?

"Are you sure that you are ready for this?" Datura asked tentatively, "Your past may not be what you are expecting."

"I'm ready." Lockhart's jaw was set.

"You never know if you are prepared until you finally face it," she murmured. He held his head high. "So are you ready?"

"Just do it," he growled.

She shrugged, unsurprised at his tone. "_Legilimens!_ "

**I just want to say that datura is a real plant. It's an herb that was brought to Europe by Spaniards in the 16** **th** ** century. I have a book on herbs and whenever I need a name I go straight for it. Datura has some narcotic effects and was also found growing in Jamestown. And all parts of datura are highly poisonous. I doubt that you will ever come across it, ** **though. **

**SWEDISH FISH ARE AWESOMEEEEEEEEE!**

**-R**


	3. Chapter 3

**DISCLAIMER: **

_**What I Would Do if I Were J.K. Rowling (In list form.)**_

_**Bully/bribe publishers into publishing more of my stories.**_

_**Sleep by day and write by night. **_

_**Make Tonks and Remus come back to life so I could have Remus snogging the living daylights out of Tonks. **_

_**Figure out whether Sirius is gay or not. If he is, who cares? He'll still be pretty to look at.**_

_**Wear HUGE sunglasses and hoodies everywhere I go (mysterious, cute, and useful when hiding from paparazzi).**_

_**Have a chef cook me gourmet vegetarian food.**_

_**Adopt a surly teenager.**_

_**Meet Stephenie Meyer or an older (J.K. Rowling age) Edward Cullen. Sadly one of them is not possible, even if I am J.K. Rowling.**_

_**Meet J.K. Rowling. Oh, wait. I AM J.K. Rowling. Except I'm not. But If I WERE I would look in the mirror. And take photos. And then autograph them. And then turn back into RadicalReason. And sell them on eBay. WAIT! I don't HAVE to turn back. But I'm sure Jo will want her body back.**_

_**Write fan fiction (incognito as RadicalReason). Hehe.**_

**I AM NOT J.K. ROWLING, SO NONE OF THESE ARE POSSIBLE. **

**(SKIP ALL OF THE BOLDED STUFF IF YOU WANT.)**

**EvilLittleNerd1981 – You definitely know something is weird in a good way when described as 'deranged leprechauns.' Thanks for reviewing and sorry for suggesting that you are INTERESTED in Gildy… This girl hasn't ever had Swedish Fish! Someone send her a bag of them soon! **

**THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO REVIEWED! YOU GUYS ARE TOTALLY MY PIECE OF ANTI-HUMBLE PIE. And sorry it took so long to post this chappie. I was finishing up Eloise Midgen and the Yule Ball. **

**On to the story. **

Chapter 3

"_Legilimens!"_

_It was cold. Baby Lockhart thrashed about wildly, bawling. The streetlights flickered. The light that had once basked the sidewalk in its glow was gone. It was now cold AND dark. A prickly feeling went up Gilderoy's arms and he scrunched himself into a tight ball. He was too young to think that the warmth in his chest would also spread to his arms and legs because of this movement, but he had survival instincts. _

_A light somewhere in the distance turned on. Hope…?_

_**xVx**_

"That wasn't what you were looking for." Datura was looking at him with a strange expression over her features, almost pitying. "You're searching for something. You don't know what it is, but when you find it you'll know."

Gilderoy nodded. He felt cold and clammy, though he was wearing a chunky sweater and jeans. "Yeah," his voice cracked, "Try it again."

"_Legilimens._"

**xVx**

"_Arnold, bring him in. He must be soaked," said a gentle voice. _

_Strong arms hoisted him up. Baby Gilderoy cried harder. "Shhh. It's okay," a different voice said. It was lower and deeper. "Gena, I don't know the first thing about babies. What should I do," the voice asked nervously._

"_You're doing fine!" the other voice called, "Just keep doing whatever you are right now."_

"_I don't know what I'm doing right now," the voice nearest to him muttered, bathing him in the warmth from the person's breath._

"_He's cold, get him a blanket."_

The memory faded away, but was quickly replaced by a new one.

"_So you aren't my mum and dad?" teenage Lockhart asked. He had suspected this. Gena and Arnold were way too old to have had him._

_Gena hesitated, "Well, we raised you, but we aren't your REAL parents."_

_They had always told him to call them by their first names. This didn't seem too odd at first, but when he was old enough to talk to the other children in the neighborhood; he realized how strange it actually was. _

"_WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?" Lockhart said. He made each word as fierce as he could._

**xVx**

"I think that's enough Legilimency for today."

"No," Lockhart's voice was hoarse. "Keep going."

Datura shrugged. "They aren't my memories."

**xVx**

_Lockhart was at Hogwarts. McGonagall was watching a girl – his classmate – expectantly. She succeeded in turning a porcupine into a pincushion. The room burst into applause, but finally Mickey turned agonizingly slowly to face him. "Give it your best try, Mr. Lockhart," she said briskly, after clearing her throat._

_He whispered the incantation, willing it to work. Gilderoy pointed his wand at the porcupine, lightly jabbing at it, but his hand got too close and was stuck with several long, sharp, quills. He winced at the sharp pain, but was able to say, "Can I go to the infirmary" very quickly. _

"_There will be no need for that! Does anyone know a simple retracting charm?" McGonagall pointed at a burly Slytherin who had raised his hand. "Go ahead." The Slytherin lumbered over to Lockhart's table. Gilderoy cowered beneath him. In one fluid motion, the Slytherin grasped all the quills in his fist and extracted them with an unnecessarily sharp tug. "I said a CHARM," she reprimanded, but then she thought for a moment and said, "But I suppose that worked just as well." The Slytherin grinned at his friends and turned his malicious gaze back to Lockhart. _

A different memory came to Lockhart.

_A mouth was warm on his, arms snaking up to his neck yearningly… She pulled back from him and smiled. "You said you were working on an article about dragons…? Well, they're known for their fiery tempers." She leaned in for another kiss._

Suddenly he was jerked away from that scene and into another.

"_You mean you're _running away?_" A boy with messy black hair stared up at him incredulously. "After all that stuff you did in your books-"_

"_Books can be misleading," Lockhart said, rather defensively. _

"_You wrote them!" the boy shouted at him._

"_My dear boy," Gilderoy stood up to his full height, "Do use your common sense. My books wouldn't have sold half as well if people didn't think_ I'd_ done all those things." He gave the boy a small smile. "No one wants to read about some ugly old Armenian warlock, even if he did save a village from werewolves. He'd look dreadful on the cover. No dress sense at all…" Lockhart shook his head sadly. "And the witch who banished the Bandon Banshee had a harelip. I mean, come on-" _

"_So you've just been taking credit for what a load of other people have done? The boy's bright green eyes were accusing, and Gilderoy shifted uncomfortably under his stare._

**xVx**

"You're a FRAUD!" Datura bellowed.

When Lockhart spoke his voice was low. "I have no memory of doing anything that I witnessed just now."

"Just because you bloody don't REMEMBER doesn't mean it's not your fault!" she shrieked hysterically.

"Haven't YOU ever done something that you just don't remember? Had a few firewhiskeys and woke up the next morning, wondering what had happened?" Lockhart tried to keep his eyes steady on hers. "I DON'T REMEMBER."

"Well, the alcohol does something to your brain. I don't think you have been drinking and all the while plotting to take someone else's work! How did you DO that anyway? How COULD you do that to so many innocent people? Don't you feel ANY REMORSE for them?"

"I don't remember," Gilderoy growled.

"Let's witness MORE of your crimes, shall we? _LEGILIMENS!_"

**xVx**

_The witch with the harelip had her back turned to him. "Would you like some more tea? What newspaper did you say you worked for? The _Monthly Moon_?" Lockhart quietly drew his wand from inside his robes and pointed them at the witch's back. _

"_Obliviate," he whispered, flicking his wand. _

**xVx**

"So THAT'S how you did it." Datura was shaking. "Are you going to perform the Memory Charm on me too, just because I know? I understand that me knowing would certainly damage your reputation even more than it is now," she said sarcastically, but her wand was on him. "You know what?! I don't even care. Goodbye Mr. Gilderoy Lockhart."

**Yeah, I know that it's mostly stuff you already know about our dear Gildy, but still. I had to add it. The part where Harry confronts Gilderoy is taken from J.K. Rowling's fabulous book, **_**Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. **_

**I lost the page number shortly after typing it up because I was perched on the edge of my bed, my face very close to my laptop, not even realizing that I had been slowly sliding on my pillow to the left. I fell off my bad and crashed into my table, which toppled over, spilling juice, books, notebooks, papers, and a bottle of black nail polish (thankfully closed) all over the floor. So, I'm going to have a few bruises soon. Yes, I know I'm very clumsy. Last night I was typing on my computer and I accidentally dropped a bowl of potatoes that I was eating. (They were SOO good. All buttery and salty and lightly crisped.) I'm dangerous when I'm with this laptop. **

**-R**


	4. Chapter 4

**DISCLAIMER: I'm not J.K. Rowling and I don't claim to be here. I don't own any of the characters from Harry Potter.  
**

**Sorry about taking so long to post. I needed to read two books and start and finish a project. And I've been completely mortified about asking a nine-year-old if she was five. (My excuse was that I couldn't see well in the dark.)**

**I hope you enjoy this. There's even a little poem/letter from one of Gilderoy's admirers. **

Chapter 4

Strangely, Lockhart didn't even feel that bad as he heard Datura's footsteps fading away. He tried not to think about his newly found memories, but even autographing photos to give away to all the Healers in the building didn't take away the emotions that washed over him. Before he had been riding the slightly rocky ripples of confusion, but now that the wave he had been dreading had knocked him nearly senseless and started to ebb away, he started feeling the true shock that he didn't have time to experience before that wave hit.

How many more things had he done that he didn't know about? At one time, he might have said that he was relieving them of some painful memories that would weigh on their existences, but now he knew that he had swiped their happiest memories as well. And he didn't know for sure what he might have said about not-so-delicately extracting memories and throwing them away, or whatever happens to memories when they're gone. He had ripped them from their identities, and that was all that counted.

Who was Lockhart? Apparently he was no one good. Gilderoy Lockhart, Order of Merlin, Third Class, Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defense League, five time winner of Witch Weekly's Most-Charming-Smile award, and fraud.

Now he was Gilderoy Lockhart, ex-fraud, a victim of permanent spell damage, resident of St. Mungo's, and one of the least favorite Defense Against the Dark Arts professors (unless the vote of the female population of Hogwarts counts).

Those dreams he was having couldn't be real, could they? Was it normal for someone who has had their memory modified to start to remember?

"Gilderoy, are you feeling okay?" asked Rosie. She had noticed the same dazed expression on his face that he had when he first came into St. Mungo's.

"Yes, I am feeling perfectly all right," he said, flashing his very white teeth at her. A smile from him acted almost exactly like a Memory Charm.

And then he remembered. Did Rosie know about him being a fraud? Was Datura about to tell her? Rosie would hate him if she knew. But it was safe to assume that she didn't know by the way that she smiled back at him, eyes crinkling. Who would bring him food? Who would help him tame his unruly waves when they acted up? Who would help him pick out robes that matched his ward? Who would help him answer the fan mail? He was sure that he wouldn't be able to survive without her.

"That strange distant look is back," Rosie murmured. "Sometimes you aren't physically hurting when something is pressing down on your mind. Is that what it feels like now?"

Gilderoy would just have to tell her. He bit his lower lip to keep it from trembling. What would be the best way to tell her? 'I've just found out that I'm a fraud and I don't remember being a fraud' or 'I've been walking around modifying memories so that I can take credit for what they've done over the course of their lives'? Neither was really good.

"Is that what it feels like now?" she repeated. Concern for him practically dripped from her mouth.

"No," he lied, clasping his hands behind his back. "I'm really fine."

"Okay then. Maybe I'm just imagining it, but you do look a bit peaky. You should try to get more rest tonight."

A pleased glint jumped to his eyes. "I always get at least ten hours of beauty sleep," he chanted wisely.

Her face softened. "Good. Well, I'm going to step out for the night. Datura is staying here tonight to make sure none of the patients need me while I'm away. I hope my kids haven't had dinner yet. Goodnight, Gilderoy."

"Goodnight," he called after her as she slipped out of the door. He repressed a shudder. Datura might strangle him in his sleep.

**xVx**

Instead of his recommended ten hours of sleep, Gilderoy got only two. At least, he thought it was two. He couldn't be quite sure of the exact number. When he finally went to sleep, he woke up between five and fifteen minutes later. He would drift off again a few hours later. This process would repeat itself over and over until the sun finally broke the horizon.

During the middle of the night, he got a sudden craving for chocolate. Rosie always kept a small stash in the cardboard box under his bed. Making sure that no one was watching, he slid the flaps of the box open and reached down for a chocolate bar. As he unwrapped the foil, he tried to be as quiet as he could. Whenever the foil crinkled or rustled he would immediately freeze, silently hoping that no one had heard. When the foil had all been peeled away and he had in his hands the cure to his craving, he didn't even bother snapping off a piece for himself. He took a large bite out of one corner, savoring the velvety feeling in his mouth. After he had eaten the whole bar, his mouth was coated in chocolate, sticky and warm. He longed for something cool and refreshing to drink.

But Rosie had gone home to her family for the night and only Datura was left there, so he stifled a moan and tried to go to sleep.

He woke up with his mouth sticky around the corners and with some hardened chocolate pasted to his cheeks.

He tried to pass the time until Rosie would be there. It was nine and Rosie would arrive at ten. Better yet, Datura would go home, wherever that was. He smoothed an exfoliating scrub over his cheeks and forehead after washing his face of all chocolate. He tried to occupy himself with reading the new stack of mail that he hadn't gotten a chance to read the day before.

One letter, from Eliza McKinley, expressed her gratitude at his help finding a unique cream that gets rid of blemishes. In the form of a poem.

_Now that my pimples are all gone_

_And my skin is creamy white,_

_All the boys look at me_

_In a different light_

_Thank you, kind sir_

_For your piece of advice,_

_Never again shall I _

_Call on you again after thinking thrice_

_Now I have a steady boyfriend_

_All thanks to you,_

_I am so sorry _

_That this letter is horribly overdue_

_I swear I'll never write again_

_(Partly because my boyfriend thinks you're full of it)_

_But I'll say thanks one last time_

_Now I'll leave you alone, you gorgeous dimwit_

It was possibly the most flattering letter Gilderoy had ever gotten. He smiled at her gratitude. All in a day's work.

**xVx**

Lockhart had made up his mind. He was going to tell Rosie. Emily, the girl from his dreams – memories, was in Romania. And Gilderoy was going to go to Romania. And take Rosie along.

Rosie stepped into his ward, surprised to see him right there, waiting for her. "Hello Gilderoy," her voice was mildly curious. "What are you up to?"

"I need to tell you something." His voice wavered a little, but he knew exactly what he was going to say. He had half an hour to write and memorize his lines. Now he just had to deliver them like a perfect actor. "Do you know why I'm in this ward right now?"

"You had a dodgy wand and your spell backfired."

"Yeah," he said, not expecting an answer. That had been a rhetorical question. "Wait… You knew about me knowing how to modify memories?" Now Lockhart knew. When Datura had used Legilimency on him, he hadn't seen that memory. So that was how he ended up in this ward…

Rosie just smiled. "Of course I knew, sweetie. I'm your Healer. I'm supposed to know these things."

"Does anyone else know," Lockhart couldn't keep his voice from being strained.

"Nope. It's all confidential." He breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well, it isn't anymore. Datura knows."

"Oh, that dear girl is sweet, but she is way too by-the-rules. I guess it has to do with being chosen as a Prefect once. She was a little rowdy when she was a Prefect, but Datura was proud of her status. When she wasn't chosen for Head Girl she assumed that she hadn't been strictly following the rules as Dumbledore expected her to." Rosie sighed. "When she was a teenager she tried to grow up too fast. I suppose she's cross with you now."

"Yes, but I didn't want you to talk to me about her. You see, I've been having these strange dreams and I'm pretty sure that they're memories. I remember modifying her memory. Her name was Emily and she was studying dragons in Romania. So I have a question I need to ask you…"

Rosie gave a nod that clearly indicated that he should go on.

"Will you come with me to Romania?" Rosie started to speak, but Gilderoy went on. "I'll go either way. With or without you," he warned.

"That just isn't practical," she said soothingly. "I have children and a husband. I can't just leave them."

Lockhart nodded, as if he understood. But his mind is still stuck on four words.

We're going to Romania.

**I'm not going to post for about a week because I have to skim ** _**Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them** _ ** for any information I could use concerning dragons. And I also have to research about Romania.**

**I hope you liked this chapter. **

**-R**


	5. Chapter 5

**DISCLAIMER: JKR is the most talented person that I wish I could know. **

**I've been singing 'Lockhart is a sexist pig' in the tune of Mary had a Little Lamb for the past five minutes.**

**Sorry that I haven't written in a while, for those of you who are still reading (like two people). I had a band competition. The ceremony was at an amusement park, so we had six hours to hang out before the ceremony. We got third place. We apparently tied with our arch rival school, but they got ahead somehow. The band with first place was a mile ahead of us. We never could have beaten them. Eh. I'll try again next year. The ride back to the school was horrible but I'm glad I got to miss school. (The school year doesn't end until June 19****th**** for me, so teachers are cramming in last minute exams and projects.) I won't be able to write as frequently.**

"Haven't you heard?" squealed a blonde witch. "Snogging's out of style!"

"Are you kidding me?" said the brunette, eyeing her friend with speculation. "Then what _is_ in style?"

"Let's just say, I will never be able to peel a banana – let alone _eat it_ – ever again," Blondie giggled.

"Ah," said the brunette with a knowing smile curving her lips.

Two pairs of eyes flickered to the dashing blue-eyed man who had just wandered in. "Oh, look, Charlotte." Blondie bared her teeth nastily, green eyes glinting at the thought of amusement.

The brunette let her eyes lazily trail up the man's body. "He's gorgeous enough, but he looks kinda dumb."

"All the better," Blondie sneered. "We don't want him for his smarts, after all." The brunette was unconvinced. "Fine, I'll have him. Just because he isn't muscular, like the guys you prefer, doesn't mean he isn't good for anything. He may just have a few hidden talents." The blonde sniggered, but straightened up and soon stopped. "Besides, he's gorgeous. You said it yourself."

"What about your ex, what's-his-name? Aren't you supposed to be checking in on him? He nearly died after a run-in with a mad whisk-wielding house-elf."

"Oh, _him_? He was getting boring anyway. That's why I dumped him," Blondie said in a tone that suggested that it was obvious.

"Really? I thought the whole whisk-wielding house-elf thing was hot."

"I guess, but on a milder level." Blondie sighed. "Why can't anyone I date be perfect?"

"You mean you don't like who you have now?"

"You mean David? He's okay, but a little dull. All he talks about are broomsticks. And he talks about them like they're _women_."

"_Really?_ He seems cool, though. Do you want to trade David for Tommy?" The brunette was eager.

"But wasn't that how I got stuck with David in the first place?" Blondie frowned.

"Wait, we've _already_ traded?"

"Yep. We really need to transfer to Beauxbatons soon." She sounded bored. "We've dated all the datable guys in our year at least twice."

"Or Durmstrang. Those guys are so tough and rugged looking," the brunette cooed.

"Excuse me," said Gilderoy, "but could either of you take me to the Healer, Datura? She has frizzy, light brown hair and greenish eyes."

For a few seconds, the two girls were completely still. They had forgotten entirely about the presence of the famous author.

Then a slow grin crept across Blondie's face. "Yeah, I think I saw her entering a storage closet."

The brunette tried to suppress a giggle, but it evaded her attempts. "You're going to do it in a closet?" she whispered. Oblivious Lockhart didn't hear that. Young women always whispered around him. It was a little annoying sometimes, but he knew for a fact that they were interested. They were just doing their girly thing.

"Take me to her," Gilderoy said urgently.

"Okay," she said slyly. "Follow me."

"She's in there?" he said when they had come to a halt.

"Yeah. Go ahead inside."

He wrenched open the door and stepped in. A musty odor was the only thing that greeted him. "There's no one in here."

"I know."

"Then why did you-"

Blondie grabbed him and pinned him to a shelf, kicking the door shut with her foot. Rough, harsh lips met his. She had just been joking about the 'snogging being out of style'. Gilderoy thought that this whole ordeal was quite flattering, but as he really needed to see Datura at once, he tried his best to extract himself from the crazed blonde's clutches. He was dismayed when he realized that the blonde seemed to be stronger than she looked – and stronger than he was, as well.

"Excuse me-"

She covered his mouth with hers once more and pressed him harder into the shelf. His back was beginning to ache. He was definitely going to have bruises the next day, if he made it out alive. He let out an agonized moan, which Blondie probably mistook as a moan of pleasure.

Suddenly the door was wrenched open. "I thought I heard-" It was Datura. Blondie showed no signs of being abashed. Gilderoy, however, was frozen. Datura cleared her throat. "Uh… Carry on." She slipped out the door. Blondie shoved it closed and advanced once more on Lockhart.

He dodged her and burst out of the storage closet. An elderly Healer gave him a dirty look as he passed by him. "Datura," Lockhart called. He could see her taking long strides away from him. He jogged to her and caught her arm. "Datura, please listen to me."

"I think your new girlfriend is waiting for you," she said stiffly.

"Well, I was looking for you and she told me that she had seen you. So I followed her."

Datura sighed. "What do you want?"

"First, can we get out of the blonde's sight before she tackles me, beats me over the head into unconsciousness, and drags me back to her lair?"

"Fine." She pulled him into an empty ward. "Now, what do you want?"

"I need you to come to Romania with me." His eyes were trained on her face. "Rosie won't come with me," he continued, "because she has a family and all that to take care of. But you – you don't have a family or boyfriend or anything."

"How do you know I don't have a boyfriend?" she asked sharply.

"Because you're too smart to have one."

"I don't know if that's a complement or an insult."

"Yeah, that was my goal." He gave her a heart-stopping grin.

"Okaaay… So, what's your point? You want _me_ to come to Romania with _you_?"

"Oui."

"You're more of an idiot then I thought you were," Datura said dryly.

"Complement or insult?"

"Insult."

"Oh. I thought so."

**Hate it? Like it? Love it? Review it?**

**-R**


	6. Chapter 6

**School is finally out! I'll be able to write more often. But I'm leaving for New York on Monday and I won't be back until Thursday, so I might not write another chapter until then. But I might also write a chappie over the weekend…**

_**S, this chappie is dedicated to you. Thanks for the gorgeous bangles; the cuts on the knuckles of my right hand have healed up just fine. –grins– Have fun in India. Write in the book! Calleth moi. ** _

**DISCLAMER: …don't own Harry Potter…something about JK Rowling…blah…blah…too bad…I wish I owned Harry Potter… You've heard it all before. Yeah, I love Harry Potter, but I don't own it. **

_**A RECAP: Lockhart is getting weird dreams – memories of a dragon expert in Romania named Emily. After Datura, a Healer, uses Legilimency on him to reveal other memories, he finds out that he is a fraud. Datura is angry with him, but Rosie (the motherly Healer) already knew. Lockhart decides that he'll go to Romania. Rosie can't go because she has a family, so he needs to take Datura. But she's hard to convince. ** _ _**(Tell me if the recap helps.)** _

**Here's the outline for this chappie: Boring, weird, crazy, serious, strange, serious, normal. (I was feeling a little wacky when I wrote this. Lots of mood swings.)**

"I still don't see why you want to go to Romania. You want to see the girl of your dreams or whatever you call her in your weird little mind, right? You've probably already done that memory modifying charm on her, so why exactly do you _need_ to see her?" Datura was persistently asking this every time Lockhart tried to persuade her to come with him.

Gilderoy didn't really have an answer to this. "I just need to make sure she's okay. And I still don't know what I did to her. Why didn't I ever publish a book on dragons, if I did modify her memory? She was a dragon EXPERT, for Merlin's sake."

"If she's not here in St. Mungo's she's probably okay."

"MERLIN! I hadn't thought of that. I'll go check all the wards." Lockhart scrambled to his feet and was about to stride across the room when Datura grabbed his arm.

"She _isn't_ here. No one else in Spell Damage had their memory modified."

"What if she was already released?" He poked her in the chest.

"You think a Healer would send her off on her own when she didn't even know her own name?"

"AHA!"

"What?"

"Nothing. I just wanted to say 'aha'." He grinned like a little boy.

"Good for you."

"But you said that she's not in St. Mungo's. SO that means that she must be in Romania. SO I have to go. SO you have to take me SO that I don't get lost. Do you think I've used the word 'so' enough?"

"No, you could have fit it in a few more times."

"SO-"

"I was joking," Datura said hastily. "Just shut up so I can think." Lockhart shut up, but he stared at her as intensely as he could. "Stop_ looking _ at me."

He grinned. "You can't think when I look at you, too?"

"At least I don't write you lame poems." Datura smirked.

Gilderoy gaped at her. "How do you know about that? You read my mail?"

"Uh…."

"You must be really infatuated."

"I'm _not_ . You're the one who leaves your mail out in the open," she said defensively. "It was in a bright pink envelope! What kind of girls _do_ that?!"

"Now that you've mocked me and my fan mail, you have to do me a favor in return."

"I'm not going to Romania. I'll gladly strip you of your masculinity if you would like, though."

"Please?"

"You _want_ your testicles to go 'snip snip'?!" she gaped incredulously.

"DON'T SAY THAT WORD!" he bellowed.

"What? 'Snip'?"

"NO! THE OTHER WORD."

"'Want'?"

He growled low in his throat. "The word AFTER that."

"'Your'?"

"Actually," he said after a moment of thought, "the next one."

"'Testi-'"

"DON'T SAY IT, WOMAN! DON'T SAY THE WORD!"

Datura's mouth hung open.

Gilderoy shuddered. "It makes me feel all squeamy inside."

She cleared her throat.

"If you MUST say it," Lockhart began loudly again, "just say 'balls.'"

"I'm pretending I didn't hear that, is that okay with you?"

"You can pretend that if you go to Romania with me."

"Can't we go to Italy instead?" she whined. "I've heard that the men there are..." she grinned, "very _welcoming._ "

"NO."

"Zut, zut, et zut!"

"That's French."

"Fine. Excuse my French or whatever," she snapped.

"Please, please, please?! Come to Romania!" Lockhart made his voice lower, more compelling, he hoped.

"No."

"I'll slip you date rape drugs and then the next thing you know you'll be in Romania." His 'calm' composure was slipping to urgency.

"NO!"

"I was KIDDING!"

"You're not a kid," she laughed. "What are you, forty?"

"EW!" he shrieked. "That's – like – OLD!"

"Yes," she said slowly, "that is OLD."

"Do I look that old?!"

"Uh…"

"What if Emily doesn't recognize me?!"

"Well, I'm sure she's aged some too since you last met." Datura's attempt at being sympathetic wasn't working.

"EW! So she's OLD too?"

"She may have aged more… gracefully then you have," her voice shook and she began to panic. Having a shrieking Lockhart on her hands wasn't something she wanted. Maybe she should just turn him over to the Trainee Healer…

"I'm not graceful?" wailed Lockhart.

"Erm… Amanda…?" The red-haired Trainee Healer poked her head into the ward. "Could you take over?"

Amanda eyed the Lockhart in Distress and shook her head, a scared expression on her face.

"Please? He's famous," yelled Datura, flailing her arms.

"How famous?" she turned her gaze to Datura, who was still flapping her arms about.

"He was the five-time winner of _Witch Weekly's Most Charm_ -"

"Say no more," said Amanda, grinning. "I'll cover for you, but only for a few minutes. He might be dangerous."

"No, he isn't. He might be gay, though."

Datura left the gobsmacked Trainee there with one very unstable patient.

Freedom at last!

**xVx**

"Would you like a cup of tea, dear?" Rosie asked her.

Datura was over at Rosie's house, at Rosie's request.

"No thank you."

"Sugar?" Rosie ignored Datura's polite decline, though she had heard it. An overflowing spoonful of sugar dumped itself into the delicate china teacup.

Datura sighed and picked up the teacup by its handle, lifting it out of its saucer. She sloshed a tiny bit over the edge and tasted. A strangely nice warmth filled her. "You wouldn't put date rape drugs in here, would you?"

"Excuse me?" Rosie raised an eyebrow.

"Nothing. Just something Lockhart said," she muttered. "Are you going to tell me why you invited me here?"

"Who says I can't invite friends from work?" Rosie put on a scandalized expression. "Biscuit?" She held out a platter innocently. Datura held back a laugh. She was almost as good of an actress as Lockhart was. She took a biscuit and nibbled on the corner of it.

"_However_ ," Rosie said, delicately emphasizing the word, "I was hoping that you might take up Gilderoy's offer."

Datura groaned. "I'm going home." She stood up and slung her bag over her shoulder, reluctantly leaving her tea behind.

"No wait!" cried Rosie. "Please do this for the poor boy. He needs to be reunited with his Emily."

"You should've been a matchmaker, not a Healer."

"But isn't healing hearts the same thing?"

Datura rolled her eyes. Sometimes Rosie was too much of a romantic. She needed to stop being such a schoolgirl and grow up. _She saves lives and she still tries to put me on blind dates sometimes. _ She almost scoffed. Healing nonexistent hearts and healing cuts are complete opposites.

"No. _Emotions_ are involved in one of them. And Lockhart probably doesn't have feelings. Wait. He does. He's in love with himself."

"Don't be insensitive, Datura. You know that he's a good person at heart. He doesn't deserve your dislike," Rosie said wisely as she grasped Datura's shoulders and pushed her back into her seat.

"I don't exactly 'dislike' him. I just humor him. He's an idiot and he deserves not to be taken seriously."

"Everyone deserves to be taken seriously. Especially where love is concerned."

"I don't think he can possibly make any sane woman happy." Datura clutched her teacup so hard that it probably would have shattered if Rosie hadn't removed it from her grasp.

"_You_ enjoy being with him." She didn't say this as an accusation, but it still hit Datura so hard that she was temporarily rendered speechless.

"Yeah, but only when he has a dumb blond moment. I can make fun of him for it. Otherwise he's just annoying and an overwhelming burden that's keeping us from healing those who need it more than he does."

Rosie glanced at her sharply. "He's very deserving, if that's what you mean. He's been through a lot."

"Haven't we all," Datura said dryly. "Anyway, I've really gotta go."

Rosie sighed as Datura got to her feet once more. "I will see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, see you." She pulled the door almost closed, then Rosie heard, "I'll think about the Romania thing."

The door shut with a click.

Rosie smiled as she busied herself with piling the dishes into the sink.

**xVx**

"Oh, hello Datura!" Gilderoy cried cheerfully from his bed. "I wanted to ask you a question…"

She groaned. "Not the Romania thing again!"

"No, of course that's not what I've been meaning to ask you. I was just wondering… would you rather disco or swing dance?"

"Please tell me you're joking." Datura stared with hollow, blank eyes at Lockhart's strangely serious face.

"I would truly like to know."

"Disco."

"Ah, I see." He was silent for a time.

"See what?" she finally snapped.

"You like to disco," he said simply.

Datura crossed her arms. "I don't _like_ to disco. I had no other better choices to choose from."

He raised both eyebrows. "I see."

She had to restrain herself from yelling, 'Stop saying that!' Instead she tried to regain her composure. "Would you rather wear a poodle skirt or bellbottoms?" she asked coolly instead.

Lockhart shrugged. "The skirt."

"Please tell me you're joking."

"I'm joking."

"That's the truth, right?"

"What do you want me to answer that question with?"

Datura wanted to hit something really hard. "You're an idiot."

He snorted. "I know."

She wanted to say something – anything – to wipe that dumb smirk from his face.

"I'll go to Romania."

"What?" His voice was hoarse, his face crumpled into an unsure, strained expression.

"I. Will. Go. To. Romania. With. You."

She turned, striding to the door, enjoying the satisfying click of her three inch (two inches too high) heels and the memory of his bewildered face still fresh and warm on her eyelids.


	7. Chapter 7

_**DISCLAIMER: **_

_**Romilda: Harry Potter is owned by NO ONE! NO ONE!!**_

_**Me: Uh. Actually, he's owned by Jo Rowling.**_

_**Romilda: -glares- If I can't own him, no one else can!**_

_**Me: Okay… I'll go with that. –nervously edges away-**_

**Chapter 7 (Shortish chappie. Sorry.)  
**

Datura was curled up by the window of her flat with a soft blanket draped over her shoulders. She touched the tip of her wand to the candlewick before her. It flared to life.

She sat there for a while, watching the flame flicker from the wind's playfulness. Then she nudged at some of the wax that had dribbled down the candlestick in beads. It broke off easily. She held the chain of hardened wax out towards the candle flame, only a few centimeters away. A little bubble of hot wax dripped off the end, melted from the close proximity to the flame.

She was playing with fire.

**xVx**

"Here you go, Gilderoy." Rosie beamed as she placed a tray in front of him. "Your daily yogurt!"

Datura snorted, but when Rosie uncharacteristically glared at her, she coughed loudly, hiding a grin behind her hand. _YOGURT?_

Lockhart didn't seem ashamed in the least. "Thank you, Rosie," he said, sitting up straight. But inside he was shrieking with joy. _YOGURT!_

Datura's complete attention was focused on Gilderoy's hair now. _How can his hair be so perfect when he's just slept on it? It's all shiny and wavy and soft looking. Mine just looks like a nest when I wake up in the morning. He probably uses up five cans of hairspray a week just to keep it like that. His hair's probably as hard as cement. I feel bad for all of those teen girls who dream of raking their fingers through that 'gorgeous head of hair.' _

She sneezed twice. There was some weird scent tickling her nose…

"Oh! Guess what!" he practically screamed at Rosie. He didn't give her a chance to answer. "DATURA SAID YES!"

"That's wonderful, Gilderoy!" She patted him on his head like a proud mother.

_What the bloody hell?! _

Datura sneezed again. Rosie pressed a handkerchief into her hand and went back to cooing over 'dear Gildy.'

"I think it must have been my charming looks," he said, face strangely serious. He smoothed a hand down the back of his head, making sure that all of her petting hadn't ruined his hair. That wasn't likely at all.

_Yep, playing with fire. He was certainly as obstreperous as fire. Had he _ever_ led a quiet life?! He was always boisterous. And annoying. Maybe 'dear Emily' would cure him of that. _"I think I'm going to take my lunch break now," mumbled Datura.

"But it's ten in the morning!" protested Rosie.

"Uh… Yeah. I-I erm… I'm going to eat… breakfast now," she replied unsteadily. "Uh. Toodles!"

She slipped out of the door, nearly tripping over a patient who had endured a growth stunting potion.

Datura breathed in the fresh air that was untainted by Lockhart's pungent perfume in gasps. He was wearing a new cologne or something. That was strange. He had always said that he would never change his signature 'golden lilac' scent. And honestly, _'golden lilac'_?! Who the hell names put the word 'lilac' next to 'golden'?!

But Datura had more pressing matters to deal with. A wizard had just come in from some faraway country with some bad third degree burns from an annoyed dragon. According to her papers, half of his face had been practically melted off. This was just one situation where some cold water wouldn't help.

_Why'd it have to be a dragon burn? Any non-magical burn could be treated in a heartbeat, but this was difficult. Hopefully the guy who was with him when the burning occurred knew about dragon burns. When they live in a place abundant with dragons, shouldn't they know how to cure it?_

"You think you can help my friend?" asked a warm voice from behind her. She turned quickly, almost getting whiplash. He was a sandy-haired man, tall and muscular. She could see the ripples under his skin as he held out his hand. She took it. "Jack Hardy, friend of the guy who's face got singed off."

"Datura Henbane. I'm feeling confident that I can fix him up pretty easily," she replied with a cockiness that she didn't really feel.

She was still holding his hand in a firm grasp, and hastily let go.

"The other Healers are reluctant to use any cooling or freezing charms. The quick changes in temperature would do more damage," she said with as much authority as she could muster after having blushed more than she had in the past month. "We're trying to mix up a salve that might help ease the pain. But I doubt that he will ever look the same."

Jack stopped grinning as he took in this information. "So he'll be permanently disfigured? He's not gonna like that. What can I do in the meantime?"

"I think you should stay at the _Leaky Cauldron _for now. I'll owl you if there is any progress."

"Okay then," he said finally. "Thanks, and it was nice meeting you, Datura."

"Yeah, you too."

What Datura was really thinking was, _Fun. More work._

**xVx**

"So when are you two going to Romania?" said Rosie brightly.

"When do I have a break from work?" asked Datura miserably.

"I can probably get you off all next week."

"_Joy_," she muttered to herself. "But I have a patient right now with third degree magical burns. If there was such thing as a fourth degree, he would have it. I don't think he'll be cured by next week."

"Okay," said Lockhart slowly. "After he dies, then."

Datura smacked him. She wasn't surprised when he let out a little squeal of pain.

"I need time to get ready, anyway," he quickly said. "We have to figure out exactly where in Romania Emily is. Plus I have to figure out what kind of weather there is over there."

"Oh, really?" She was impressed that he had taken all this into consideration.

"Yeah, that way I can figure out what clothes to bring. I don't want to be wearing heavy woolen majestic purple cloaks if it's hot out there. In that case, I'd be wearing my silk white robes with golden trim."

Datura was getting ready to hit him again, when Rosie said, "He has a point, you know."

"You need to go shopping anyway. I don't want to be associated with you in more than a Healer-and-patient way if you're wearing rainbow socks and shorts."

"I don't _own_ rainbow socks and shorts." Her eyes flashed dangerously at him. "I'll set your closet on fire if you insult the way I dress."

"I have multiple closets," he said with an easy grin. "Five closets full of clothes I've already worn, but can't bear to throw away, one full of book-signing clothes, two full of dressy clothes, one full of normal, everyday clothes, one full of-"

"I don't care. Just shut up or I'll light them all on fire!"

"Datura, that's not a nice thing to say," admonished Rosie.

"I don't care," she snapped. "How did he get so many closets here?! Each patient gets a tiny space for clothes! How can he get a million closets?"

He smiled. "I've got connections."

More like obsessed-stalker-fans.

**Don't worry about dear Datura. She's not a pyro. **

'**Henbane' is another plant. It's also poisonous. (And sometimes goes by the name of 'Henbell' or 'Hogbean.') All parts of it are poisonous and are legally restricted in some countries.) No, I don't know that much about plants. That's what books are for. I actually think that it's a pretty plant. It has yellowish-cream rounded petals with veins of dark purple. I turned to the page and there it was. 'Datura Henbane' actually sounds sort of good. At least, that's what I think. Tell me what you think. **

**Reviews would be lovely. (Tell me if I suck or if you're getting bored with this fanfic.) **

**I'm taking my laptop to New York with me so I can write, but it doesn't have internet access, so I won't be able to post while I'm there. I'll post when I get back, though. **

**-R**


	8. Chapter 8

**Very short chappie. Sorry about that…**

**And sorry about not writing. Life is busy. Volunteering takes time. Over-the-summer work is much hated. **

**I hope you haven't forgotten about Jack Hardy. I'll just give you a quick overview. He's the one with the friend who got most of his face melted off by a dragon. Does that explain things?**

**Enjoy.**

**-R**

"_So we're trying to keep these dragons away from those who will breed them to make hybrids. This could be a disaster. A witch in Belgium combined a flamingo and a Chinese Fireball. The pink feathers crowning its head caught fire when it tried to cook the witch. The creature's eyes were all droopy and-"_

_Gilderoy leaned forward, closer to Emily. She was so cute when she tried to get him to listen to what she was saying. He knew he should be paying attention to this – even writing it down. It wouldn't look odd at all. She would think that he's just quoting her for his "article." He would actually create a small story where he rescues the witch and defeats the hybrid. But for now he was distracted from his goal of becoming a published fraud. _

_His lips hovered inches from hers and she stopped talking, almost choking on her words. Her mouth was soft and sweet, tasting almost of…._

_Lockhart grinned to himself. The cook would be so annoyed if he learned that she had been snacking on chocolate. He always insisted on food that was "high in protein" and tasted like a mixture of the foulest _Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans_._

**xVx**

He woke up. And stared around the empty ward. _Where was Datura?_

"Rise and shine Sleeping Beauty." Datura sighed, nudging the door open with her foot. "Here's your yogurt. Have fun."

"Don't mock the yogurt," he grumbled as he took the tray that had been shoved at him.

"I wasn't mocking it. I brought you some cranberry juice, too. Did you know that cranberries can help maintain urinary tract health?"

"No, and I really didn't need to know."

"Well now you do," Datura said simply, shrugging.

Lockhart was on the brink of covering his ear and screaming "LALALALALALA!" so he wouldn't be able to hear any more pleasant facts she would throw his way. "Leave me alone with my yogurt now, please," he said instead. He sounded very impatient, but tried to cover it up. If she knew how annoyed he was, she'd bother him just to see him squirm.

"Somebody's Grumpy."

"Ha-ha. You're funny today," he replied tonelessly.

"You know Disney?" She sounded incredulous.

"Duh. _Snow White and the Seven Dwarves_."

"I didn't know you'd actually get that joke." She made a weird face that he enjoyed seeing. He had surprised her!

"I didn't know you made jokes."

"Eat your yogurt," she snapped.

"I don't wanna eat my yogurt."

"Why are you so grumpy today? It isn't your time of month, is it?" she taunted.

Gilderoy chose to ignore what she had just said. "No, I just had another memory. I thought I was free of them forever."

"Maybe you did something bad and your conscience doesn't like that you forgot it." Datura shrugged again.

"I kissed the girl, why would I modify her memory?"

"You kiss girls? Cue the song 'I Kissed a Girl,'" Datura sniggered loudly, making no attempt to act at all professional.

"Just go away," he groaned.

"Fine."

"Find a bloke to date for a while. I'll give him ten galleons if he keeps you happy so you don't mock me or my yogurt."

"I'd mock you anyway. And you don't have to _pay_ someone to go out with me."

"You have a boyfriend already?" he asked incredulously.

"Oh, sod off."

"Hey, it's okay if you're still single. There's gotta be someone somewhere who'll-"

_SLAM._

"have you…" he finished weakly.

On the plus side, he was now alone with his yogurt.

**xVx**

"Datura!" she heard a voice call her name. "DATURA HENBANE!"

She whirled around, trying to find the source of this voice. Ah. Jack Hardy. She tried her hardest to sound cool and collected when her head was burning and she felt sort of light-headed.

"Wow, you remembered." The awestruck tone wasn't working for her.

"Yeah, I have a good memory," he said, shrugging.

_Memory._

"Uh…" Datura struggled for something mildly intelligent to say. "Uh… Your friend, Richard Worthington will be fine… We reattached chunks of skin that had been burnt off. He will have scars, but he's okay with that. We were going to smooth it out, but he thought he'd look more dashing with the scars…"

Jack smiled and shook his head. "That's exactly like him."

"The sad thing is that our Trainee Healer agreed with him. She's making us look bad." Datura laughed, but the sound came out unconvincing and strangely false. _Why was this happening?!_

"It'll take a few days to heal up fully, but basically he's out of danger."

"Oh, that's great," he said enthusiastically. "Did you mix up that salve thing?"

"Yeah, I made it. It fixed him right up mostly." The salve that she had spent all week working on – night and day.

"That's great," he said again. "Uh, if there's anything I can do for you…"

"Thanks. I'll let you know if I need a favor."

"No, seriously," he said. "If you need something, just owl me. I'll be staying at the Leaky Cauldron until Richard gets fully better."

"Thanks," Datura said warmly, once more. "I'll let you know if there's anything you can help me with."

**xVx**

"Oh, Merlin!" gasped Amanda, the red-headed Trainee. "Who was that man?!" she said after Jack Hardy had left. "He has positively yummy arms!" Her green eyes were wide and shiny, sort of glazed over with evident lust. According to her, she just 'knows how to appreciate a man.' According to Datura, she's just 'weak and idolizes anyone that doesn't shave their legs.' That means muggle professional swimmers are probably out… or not.

**Reviews are appreciated. **


	9. Chapter 9

**When you wake up to the sound of your sister shrilly screaming that Grunkles and Panda are missing, you know that you're in for a long day. So, you have to go ahead and lock yourself in your room with a few DVDs to keep you company. But when you've watched them both and all the special features, your keyboard starts to glare at you. That's when you know you have to write. **

**Oh, and I wasn't the one who stole Grunkles, Panda, and friends. That would be my mother. **

**DISCLAIMER: I find myself seriously wondering if J.K. Rowling has stuffed animals of her own. If so, what kind?**

Chapter 9

"When are we going to Romania?" Gilderoy whined. He needed to know Emily was okay. What if he was a really bad person? Yes, once he had bought a robe made entirely from dragon skins, but that had been back in his bad boy phase. He was a completely different person. Plus, that style went out like a candle flame.

"When you figure out how we're getting there." Datura's expression remained the same, her voice infuriatingly even.

It wouldn't hurt to look actually normal once in a while. You know, like smiling or laughing. He, himself, smiled all the time.

"You don't understand the urgency of this."

"It was years ago. It can wait a few more months." She shrugged.

"You don't understand," he said more firmly. "This isn't _your_ life. _You're_ not the one who has to live it every single day."

"Fine. We'll find a way to figure this thing out. Right now I have to check up on some guy from Romania. Remember? I told you about him. He had bad burns and was DYING. I think life and death is more important than your problems. I fixed him up. I SAVED a life." She stood up and crossed over the room to the door.

"Wait. You said he was from Romania. And he had bad burns from a _dragon_, right?" His eyes lit up, the corners of his mouth twitched.

"Yeah, what's your point?" she said carelessly. Her hand rested on the doorknob.

"Dragons. Romania. Emily."

Her mouth dropped open in an 'O' shape that was really very unbecoming. "That bloke's friend said that if I needed anything…"

He grinned. "We're going to Romania."

**xVx**

She was standing there, right where he first saw her. Nothing was changed, with the exception of a red-headed man by her side.

He was muscular and stocky. His complexion wasn't so great compared to Gilderoy's own creamy-white skin. This man's face was so freckled that he almost looked tan. But there was just something about him that was pleasing. His face was open and good-natured. Gilderoy wondered if he had that same look.

"Whoa." He felt Datura's breath on his neck. "Who is he?"

Lockhart turned angrily to face her. Her eyes were crinkled around the corners, openly staring at the man.

Instead of smacking her, like he should have done, he strode over to Emily and the man. They both acknowledged his presence with a nod and waited for him to speak. He opened his mouth – and nothing came out.

What was he supposed to say?

"Uh, I'm Gilderoy Lockhart."

Emily smiled kindly. "Emily Patterson. This is Charlie Weasley."

"Err, nice to meet you both." He awkwardly extended a hand. She took it.

**xVx**

_He found himself wanting to listen to her. She loved these dragons and he wanted to love them too. He listened to her jabber on and on about what properties their scales had. He didn't even try to commit the list to his memory. He just wanted to remember her face – the animated, passionate look that overtook her weather-beaten face when she started talking about dragons. _

"_Obtaining the scales is really hard though, almost impossible if you want to do it without killing the dragon. They get mad when a scale is plucked from them. You know those muggle stories about dragons who guard their treasure?" _

_Emily looked up at his face. He nodded and smiled, reassuring her that he was listening._

"_Well, they have no need for useless, shiny objects when they have their shimmering, swirling scales."_

_He nodded again._

_Emily sighed. "I'm boring you, aren't I?" The light left her eyes. _

_Gilderoy wanted to beg her to tell him more, but that's when he remembered that he was a 'reporter' in her eyes. And he knew that he would have to eventually write a book called _Dueling with Dragons_ and wipe her memory. _

"_You aren't boring me," he said, softly stroking her hair. "Let's go steal chocolate from the cook's cabinet."_

_She grinned at him. "Sure." _

_**xVx**_

_She was falling in love with him. That stupid, silly girl was falling in love with him. _

_How did he know?_

_Everyone was telling him._

_The cook pulled him aside one day and said, "I know who likes you." It was as if he were still a third year at Hogwarts again._

"_Who?" he had asked, not truly curious. A lot of girls had fallen for him over the years. _

"_I'm waiting for you to figure it out yourself." _

_Bryce, Emily's understudy, so to speak, slaps his shoulder and grins every time she passes. _

_There were only a few women at the camp, so unless Bryce was gay, there were few other people who could be falling in love with him. _

_The more Gilderoy thought about the possibility of her loving him, the more he started loving her. _

_It was infuriating! The cook could have been lying, for all he knew. And Gilderoy could just be playing the fool._

_Emily always sat next to him. Smiled at him over the shoulders of the people who were talking to her. Sometimes there was some flirting going on – so much of it that he barely had time to breathe from all of the excitement. _

"_Gilderoy Lockhart," she addressed him formally one day. "You think I'm the most beautiful goddess that you have ever seen and you want to beg Cook for some firewhiskey for me."_

"_Fine," he said after a moment where they both stared into each others eyes, waiting for someone to back down. She flashed him a coy smile decided to inform him about the mating habits of the Chinese Fireball. _

**Reviews are always appreciated. This was a short chappie, so do you think I deserve reviews?**

**This story is coming to a close…**

**-R**


	10. Chapter 10

**Sorry I haven't written for a long time. I have recently developed a relationship with another website. Very sorry.**

**This is the LAST CHAPTER. Enjoy. Leave a gift at the end, please. **

_Gilderoy was kissing her. She responded warmly, with almost rough enthusiasm. Well then, the rumors were true. _

_They were almost complete opposites. He cared more about being clean and fashionable than anything else. She, however, didn't seem to mind being so damp with sweat that her clothes stuck to her body. He loved thinking of himself as an author, signing books and pictures of himself, all in the cool comfort of a bookstore. She longed to be able to ride a dragon – as childish and impossible as it may seem to others. He would rather be known everywhere he went, while she would just like to stay hidden in the shadows. _

_Gilderoy found her qualities charming – strange, but in a cute way. However, he knew they wouldn't work out. Emily didn't understand. They would both be trapped together if he didn't do something. If he tried to remove himself from this relationship she would be hurt and withdraw herself from him, only to come back with her efforts redoubled. _

_It would have just been easiest if he had never met her._

_He pulled himself up from his cot, withdrawing his arm that had been curled over her sleeping form._

_Lockhart walked to the door, dragging the one suitcase he'd been living from after him. He paused before walking out, turning to her. "Obliviate!" he cried harshly, his wand directed at the cocoon that snugly wrapped around her._

_She tossed, face burying into her pillow and he could no longer see her face, still sweet and blissful with slumber, as if nothing had changed. But there was still a small depression where he had once been next to her. _

_As he left and walked off into his new life, he felt moisture patter on his cheeks; somehow he couldn't figure out whether they were tears or rain… There was a strange feeling delving deep into his chest. Pain? Relief? Joy? He missed her and it saddened him that she wouldn't have anything to miss. _

_He wouldn't write that book. Dueling with Dragons, or Dealing with Dragons. Whatever he would have called it wasn't going to ever be read. His publisher would be pissed, true. If he didn't sully those pages with false recollections of his heroic actions, maybe, just maybe, he would always have those few simple and true memories, untainted._

xVx

"Excuse me?" a voice said uncertainly. "Are you alright?"

Lockhart found that he was still shaking her hand, repeatedly. "Oh, yes," he said, delicately removing his hand.

"Hey, aren't you that bloke with all those books out? _Voyages with Vicars_? _Trolloping with Trolls_?" the red-headed man asked with slight humor in his voice.

"_Travels with Trolls_," Lockhart found himself correcting.

"You're not here to write _Dancing with Dragons_, are you?" Emily asked, grinning.

"No, but I heard that the Chinese Fireball enjoys a good tango," he countered.

Datura peered curiously at Emily and Lockhart. "Oh, and this is Datura," he added quickly, once the two women's stares met.

"So, would you like to sit down?" Emily asked after a moment of the four of them standing around awkwardly. "Is there anything you wanted?"

"No. I've got what I needed," he said quietly. "It was very nice meeting you two."

He took Datura's hand and the two of them made their way back to the portkey that Jack Hardy had arranged for them.

Datura sighed. _Back to our normal lives. But then again, was anything normal around a man who owned thirty-four different hair products? At least he wouldn't be whining about lost memories now. _

"What now?" Datura asked him as they made their way to his ward.

He sighed. "Now we make memories."

"No, I mean, you aren't stuck here anymore. You've fully recovered and all. You're free to go off house-hunting for a place with dozens of closets."

Was it just him, or did she sound…miserable?

They stopped outside of his room.

"I guess I'll never see you again," he said slowly.

She shrugged, tucking some straggling hairs behind an ear. "I guess."

The two of them stood there, unsure. He leaned forward and pressed his lips softly to hers, looking into her startled gray eyes. "Maybe we could see each other again," he suggested, pulling back.

"How about tomorrow, during my lunch break," Datura said numbly, still shocked.

"Perfect, see you then," he chimed.

They stood there, still looking at each other. He wasn't leaving; neither was she.

"Well, I have to get my stuff. It'll take a while to pack my closets. We'll need to arrange transportation. That could take hours…"

"Uh, yeah," Datura responded nervously. "The packing will take at least a few days."

He agreed.

At that moment she couldn't have been happier about the existence of his five closets.

**I'm REALLY mega-sorry for not posting. I got distracted by life. I had this written a few weeks ago, but I never got a chance to post.**

**I'll be around, don't worry (though I'm not sure some of you are worried or even care –sob-). I'm working on another story and I'm six chapters in so far, but I'm not sure if it'll work yet, so I'm not going to post. **

**It is possible that Emily – like Lockhart – will regain her memories. But for now, I think I'll leave her blissfully unaware in the arms of the handsomely freckled Charlie (every woman who meets him will believe that calloused hands are the new style).**

**Now that I've finished this story, it's time to do my over-the-summer-work (homework incognito). Eh, I'll do it tomorrow. It's an at least ten-day project that will take at least an hour out of every day. Maybe more. I REALLY don't want to do it.**

**Enjoy your summers (assuming school hasn't begun for you yet). Frozen lemonade is awesome. Try it!**

**HUUUGE THANK YOU'S TO….**

**EvilLittleNerd1981 – ORANGE JUICE!!**

**Kore-of-Myth – You're one of my favorite authors so thanks for reviewing. –eyes shine in awe-**

**IH8Abbreviations – Great oneshots! I love your penname.**

**Noc007 **

**BDSanta2001 - Reviews from you are like chocolate! Whoa Good **

**TheNighttimeSky**

**Glitterpaw of Thunderclan**

**x R3mii x**

**Lillie Lyana**

**Scholarlydimwit – Miss you! I have to start my project! NOOO. I'm glad you're coming back. Hope your trip was good. **

**Constructive criticism is REALLY appreciated. **

**-R**


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